Author's Notes: This new chapter is dedicated to EriBlue. Welcome to the support crew! I'm glad you enjoyed this short story. I apologize if anyone seems out of character. I'm not up to date on One Piece AT ALL, so, by all means, call me out on a detail I missed or otherwise. The least I can do is my research. I have no excuse not to.

For this new chapter, I want to go back to Nesi's visit with the Celestial Dragons. To clarify, she doesn't become a Celestial Dragon, and this particular scene happens while Ace is still alive. Only the main story chapters have him where he's dead or in flashbacks. Everything after that are moments that Nesi remembers. She's more like a businessperson, or third-party contractor in policing and warfare. That's what the privateers were historically, so I wanted to stick with that in the context of One Piece. The Celestial Dragons, in this story, are looking into setting up contracts with the privateers because they have an organized system of policing unlike the Seven Warlords of the Sea. As said before, Nesi has a high success rate, so she's one of the four privateers that I think the Celestial Dragons would take an interest in. On the bright side, though, you get to see Shanks. XD No game night activities but references to those times are present.

~ ... Clandestine Trials ... ~

Looking out of the window with a view of the Grand Line, Nesi was making herself a cocktail before for her appointment with the elders. Nothing heavily alcoholic. Just a spiked fruit juice to calm her nerves. She always gets anxious before meeting with someone socially above her, but her tray of goodies helped. Although Shanks kicked her off his ship, she was happy to see a familiar face just before the meeting. The rest of the elevator ride was intensely awkward, but she parted ways with the man on amicable terms (or at least as amicable as they can get) and was able to calm down tremendously. She even took a second nap! Rising from her seat, she decided to eat breakfast. If any of the elders were talking to Shanks, they had their hands full with the dude. She decided not to bring her hot plate to warm any food, just in case the higher-ups thought it trifling, but she did bring colder foods and creamy dishes. Preparing an orange and cranberry biscuit sandwich, Nesi mindlessly went to work on her "art" as Primrose Sedzig called it. People had passed her by to watch out of curiosity, but she hardly paid any attention to them. She was focused on the marmalade and cream. A pair of women did walk over to greet her, and she politely stopped to speak to them out of courtesy.

Nesi remembered the ladies from Sera Lynn's goldfishing event. You want to talk about a waste of money? Why would anyone sit there and make golden toy fish of varying weights that the ladies can barely lift? Nesi was thinking the event was about actually catching fish. Imagine her surprise when the ladies explained that you don't eat the fish but merely try to catch as many pounds as possible. Sera Lynn had her reasons for hosting the event. It was something different for the noble ladies to do, and she wondered what real fish looked like in their natural environment. Nesi had snuck the noble girl away to a privateer harbor so she could see actual fish and returned her unharmed and pristine like she never left. The Sedzig family were allowed to go below Mary Geiosie if (and only if) they were brought to a lounging house at a privateer's harbor. It was important for the nobles working with them to maintain some semblance of a relationship with the privateers for good business. Otherwise, the troops will gladly let the cargo ships and navy get hit by pirates at every turn. They're not obligated to serve them. Nesi was more than happy to let the Spades (or Whitebeards) know that a million-dollar prize ship was out and about without a bodyguard. Don't let the cargo be ale.

Regardless, Nesi spoke to the ladies at length about events their fathers or uncles were hosting and invited her to them. The handsome piratess agreed to check her schedule escorted the women to the elevator before returning to her spot. One day, she would understand why her popularity came from being more manly than lady-like, but it served as a good distraction from her anxiety. Continuing to work on her food, she was approached by another who decided to sit in front of her instead of stand over her shoulder. She looked up briefly to greet this other person, only to realize they already met.

"Your highness," Nesi greeted, bowing politely in greeting.

"Lady Llandala," Shanks greeted in return with a nod.

"I suppose your meeting ended earlier than I thought," Nesi mentioned, returning to her pastry. She layered the marmalade over the first layer of biscuit then an egg white patty and what looked like lettuce to Shanks. That was put to the side in favor of finishing the curd and cream. She then continued, "Couldn't have been about paperwork."

"Why's that?" Shank asked.

"Welp, you wouldn't be here for starters," Nesi replied, pouring the curd in the cream slowly while stirring in counterclockwise motion. When she was satisfied, she layered the cream on another biscuit and had dried fruit slices and small nuts top that. Sandwiching the two halves, she made a good-looking item. Her cocktail was next as she added juices and a hint of some kind of orange bitter and mint to a shaker. "Unless you're taking a break from deliberations. Signing documents can take up to 3 hours, depending on the severity of the discussion."

"... How's it feel to be living out your dream?" Shanks asked, smiling a bit more warmly at her. "You said something about making the nobles come down from their posts to meet you. Did you do that?"

"I did," Nesi answered, smiling brightly. Her eyes held a breathtaking glow to them - the opposite of that cold, fiery stare she had when they first met. "One vice admiral, a noble and tradesman named Ingagoh, and the Sedzig family while I was still an apprentice. Sometimes when I come in this area, other nobles will come to talk to me. It's mostly the women and younger men, but they talk. Usually, they want to know about the things I've seen on battlefronts, open seas, or just my journey here. Every now and then, they ask about you."

"Me? Why me?" Shanks questioned, genuinely surprised.

"Well, it's not often you get to meet one of the four emperors and not have a bad word about them," Nesi answered, locking eyes with Shanks this time. "In my case, I met two. Both let me on their ships and spoke to me as a regular person from time to time. I believe a crewmate of Blackbeard's has been trying to reach us as well. I didn't get his name, but we're supposed to meet with him at some point."

"We?" Shanks questioned, tilting his head very slightly to show interest. A crewmate of Blackbeard wants to meet her? As in ask her to join the Blackbeards?

"The privateer leaders," Nesi said, returning her attention to her food. Almost done. "I think he or she caught wind of us. As far as I know, Blackbeard doesn't know about this. This is a lot more 'underground' or 'behind the shadows' than most people who come into the ranks or troops. I've been trying to figure out why myself, but there are just some things in this world you can't know or don't know. For reasons I may not ever know or understand, a Blackbeard wants to talk to us because of something we did (don't know what), and two of the Four Emperors helped me during times of war. Whether that was training for a high-risk mission or ripping up battle plans to stop unnecessary bloodshed, doesn't matter to the younger generations since they're curious about you. And... done!"

Nesi smiled cheerfully at her creation and setup a small table to eat. Shanks watched her, remembering when he first met her very clearly, and started to wonder about this new bit of information. Why would a Blackbeard sneak away to talk to the privateers? Who even are the privateers? Sure, he helped Nesi in their fight along the coastlines and met one of the leaders, but he thought it was just a group of soldiers who typically jailed or executed pirates. They seemed to be different. He would have to investigate them just to be sure. As he thought about it, he started to remember Nesi as the cheerful girl on his ship. She was always dancing and cooking small meals for herself. Even had time to play games with him once her studies were over. His fondest memory of her had to be when she was playing with one of her teammates' family members at the beach. Her smile was at its fullest, and she fussed about the mishap at the vineyard when he accidentally broke the animal traps. She was a sweet person.

Nesi walked in front of Shanks, bowed with respect, and said, "Pleasure seeing you again, highness. I'm glad to have met you again this way. It probably doesn't matter to you, but... it's nice to see a familiar face in places like these. It's so stiff up here!"

Why didn't you tell them that I threw you out because you were too cold? Shanks thought.

An escort crept up behind him before he could say another word. Nesi merely bowed to the escort and proceeded to eat by the window until she was called for her appointment. The atmosphere may have been stiff with the World Government, but the waiting room warmed up around the privateer. Must be convenient being able to move around in different spaces and still belong somewhere...

"Llandala."

Nesi turned to an escort and stood up to greet the towering man. He didn't bow or show courtesy, but most of them hardly ever did that around her. Pieter van der Does was very clear about the status of a privateer within the World Government. They were not well-liked due to their political influence on others, and, recently, the marines were having a hard time getting new recruits with the growth of the privateer troops and building of their harbors. Having nobles able to visit them without being outcast also made it difficult for the World Government to exile their own kind, so the nobles were safe. Nesi, in particular, was one of their most hated among the privateers, however. She was both told and shown this. In the privateer war against Redbeard, she aided in abolishing slavery at privateer harbors and made it illegal for enemy troops to be subjected to forced labor. They instead went through a program to learn about their enemies first, underwent rehabilitative imprisonment, and were then released to either serve their respective countries or become allies to the enemy troops. While Nesi didn't write anything into law, she was used as proof that such a thing could be done. When she stole the cargo ship off the route with the Spades and forced the marines to work, she made them go through this process and the marines either stayed marines or turned over to privateering. Pieter made the argument that more money was able to travel through the privateer city-states than warring nations as a result of this, so Nesi became an enemy to the nobles. They were looking for any excuse to burn her, cut off her hand, or humiliate her in some other way. Ace, of course, hated them for it.

While she detested the idea of forcing her beloved friend and captain into a loveless marriage, he had been an ideal husband until her reinstatement. Every now and then, they would talk about things, catch up with each other, and she'd get to see that other man Ace seemed to transform into. The mature, philosophical, and otherworldly intelligent man that rarely showed face was probably the scariest and... most attractive side of Ace. Nesi hoped that no one would ever know that she had a crush on her captain. Moga and Banshee may have known, but that was as far as she was willing to let it go. Part of it was so she could get over him and let him find happiness with another woman, but the other reason why she didn't want anyone to know was because she didn't want women looking to be in the army or participate in martial arts to think that they could find love there. Nesi was very lucky. She couldn't guarantee anyone's safety in this job. As she followed her escort to the docks, she was instructed to board a ship shrouded in smog.

She boarded the ship with great suspicion but said nothing as she stood waiting for someone to show face. One man did. He was covered by a hood, but a curved silver beard protruded out.

"Llandala Nesi, ranger of the Seven Silver Mills."

"Aye," Nesi replied.

"Your business with us requires more seclusive meeting grounds. You are being sent to Godland Valley. Your work... interests me. You are not afraid to go against your own men when necessary, and you deliver punishment efficiently. You make your enemies produce results whether that's through improvement or blood, and you have no remorse for the latter. Such a thing can be useful. In the event that the World Government's assigned groups to control those scumbag pirates become insubordinate, I wish to use you to eradicate the 'bad apples of the bunch'. First, you must endure my trials to properly evaluate your skill and mental stability. I do not trust the limits of your mercy."

When the man stopped and the ship met with choppier waters, he removed his hood to reveal a fascinating hairstyle shaped like a crescent moon or those old-century hats worn by shaman and/or jesters of the court. His face was too serious to be a jester, and he was talking about her work as a naval officer. He must be the one interested in forming the contract with the privateers.

"There are many in the lowlands who don't deserve it, and you can't humanize beasts. This work requires absolution."

"Understood, my lord. Pardon my inquiry, but why not hire one of the admirals for this if you seek an absolutist? The admirals fulfill your requirements for the desired work you're looking for, do they not?" Nesi asked out of genuine curiosity.

"Your execution missions are what garnered attention. No one knows about them other than your leaders. Your results are finite, clean, honoring the laws put on you. No admiral is as proficient of the law as you have been, and it's not often you find someone who is a true neutral in the scope of the world. You don't hate pirates, but you tolerate them to a point. You don't hate marines, but you tolerate them to a point. You don't hate civilians, but again you tolerate them to a point. The limit of your mercy is there, and you have proof that you have no problem being an enemy to the innocent. That's why you're here for evaluation. I am the only one able to administer the final judgement on these glory-hunting lowlifes, but you are an interesting enough candidate to act as a member of my troop. The Gallows."

"You intend to form an execution libel then, my lord?" Nesi asked for clarity. She wasn't impressed by the man's god complex, but she was curious about his intentions.

"Only if you succeed in surviving the Godland Valley training..."